How to Make a Table With a Piano Hinge

Place felt on a folding table to make it a ping pong table.

A fold-up table is convenient for throwing parties or hosting dinners for families when you need an extra table and a small poker table will not do. Creating your own fold-up table gives you the freedom to make the table the size you need it to be. The stability and strength of a piano hinge will guarantee the table will hold all that is needed.

Things You'll Need

• Two 2-by-3-foot MDF (medium-density fibreboard) boards, 3/4-inch thick
• 36-inch piano hinge
• Cordless drill
• 1/2-inch wood screws
• Four 1-by-1-inch table legs
• Two 20-inch long 1-by-1-inch boards
• 1 1/2-inch wood screws
• Four tee hinges
• Pine trim
• Trim nails
• Hammer

Instructions

1. Lay two 2-by-3-foot MDF boards, 3/4-inch thick, next to each other on the floor face down. Set the boards touching at 2-foot long edges.

2. Set a 36-inch long piano hinge on the seam made where the two MDF boards touch. Center the hinge along the seam.

3. Screw the piano hinge to the boards with a cordless drill and 1/2-inch wood screws. Drill one screw in the middle hole on each side and one screw on each end to keep the hinge in place during attachment.

4. Attach, with 1/2-inch wood screws, a tee hinge to one side of the top of a table leg where the long end of the hinge is on the leg. Attach three more tee hinges to three more table legs in the same manner.

5. Attach two sets of two table legs together using a 20-inch long, 1-by-1-inch support board six inches from the hinges. Place the legs so the tee hinges are on facing the same direction. Drill two 1 1/2-inch wood screw into the support boards through the legs.

6. Place the legs in the corners of the table leaving a 1-inch space between the edges of the table and the legs. The tee hinges must face the interior of the table along the 3-foot long edge to fold down properly.

7. Attach the tee hinges to the MDF boards with 1/2-inch wood screws using a cordless drill.

8. Open the legs and stand the table up.

9. Secure pine trim to the edges of the MDF boards with trim nails using a hammer.

Tips & Warnings

• Use square, untapered legs for stability.

• Add small wheels to the edges of the hinged seam for easy movement of the folded table.

• Use inner legs and leg supports when building a longer table.

• Add felt to the top of the table to make a ping pong table.

References

• Overstock.com: Dining Room Furniture Buying Guide
• The Complete Illustrated Guide to Furniture and Cabinet Construction; Andy Rae